Chapter 2

The Enchanting Judge

“Gasp!”

With a choking sound, she bolted upright.

In the darkness, her delicate chest rose and fell rapidly.

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.

Even as she sat against the side of the bed, trying to catch her breath, the train continued barreling forward, emitting heavy, metallic noises without pause.

The clattering noise that had irritated her all day now felt almost maddeningly comforting.

She had dreamed countless dreams in her life, but it had been a long time since a dream left such a lingering aftereffect even after waking.

Stress.

With that single word — the catch-all diagnosis of the medical world — Riche assessed her own condition.

Taking a slow, deep breath, she pulled aside the curtain and gazed out the hazy window.

Endless snow flurries blurred the boundary between sky and earth, spreading out in a white haze.

The entire world seemed to have fallen into a deep, silent dream.

“Our train will soon be arriving at its final stop, Lancesca Station. Passengers, please prepare to disembark.”

Just then, a crew member knocked on each compartment door from outside, shouting the announcement.

Only then did Riche clutch her aching head and force her creaking mind to work.

The northernmost tip of the continent.

A vast yet barren land, the Sobek Federal Republic.

To get here from her homeland, the Atlantia United States, Riche had to pass through no less than five different countries.

That was because until not long ago, the two empires had been enemy nations at war.

And the war still wasn’t truly over.

Her destination, Lancesca, was the largest city in the north and the territory of Grand Duke Eldéard, a major figure in Sobek.

“We’ve arrived!”

Screech, clack.

The train came to a shuddering, chilling halt.

People began flooding out like a tidal wave.

Riche hurriedly dragged her suitcase and joined the flow of passengers exiting the train.

With every breath in and out, the cold foreign air sank deep into her lungs.

Even though it was summer, the faint scent of snow-laden coniferous forests lingered in the air.

“Are you perhaps Doctor Riche Solion?”

While lingering around the platform, someone approached and spoke to her.

Riche Solion.

It wasn’t her real name or anything close to it, but she turned to face the person without batting an eye.

She had to.

“Yes. And you are…?”

“I am Kian, aide to His Grace Grand Duke Eldéard.”

In truth, she already knew who he was.

And it wasn’t just his name she knew.

She knew everything about his family relationships within eight degrees, his values, hobbies and skills, even his preferred type of woman.

The information she had read in documents branched out in her mind like veins on a leaf.

“Ah, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

But she reacted as if she was hearing his name for the very first time in her life.

Her voice and expression — all products of training and practice.

“Please, feel free to just call me Kian from now on.”

“Would that really be alright? Thank you for your hospitality.”

“You are the personal physician to His Grace the Grand Duke, after all. It’s only fitting that we treat you accordingly.”

The aide’s courteous attitude.

Even the car sent just to pick her up.

It was excessive, far beyond what would normally be expected for welcoming a new personal physician into a residence.

She settled into the back seat of the car that Kian opened for her, and soon the vehicle glided smoothly along the well-paved roads.

Patter, patter.

Before she realized it, heavy rain began battering against the windows.

The all-black wipers worked busily to sweep the rain away.

One by one, the streetlights that had illuminated the night began to flicker out.

Then—

Clack.

The window blinds rolled down in one smooth motion, completely blocking the outside view.

“From here until we arrive at the residence, all external visibility must be blocked.”

It seemed they intended not to leave a single clue that could hint at the residence’s location.

As expected, they were thorough to a brutal degree.

For a moment, an awkward silence filled the car.

Perhaps the aide was thinking the same, because through the rearview mirror, she saw him signal to the driver.

The driver turned on the car’s audio, and the radio crackled and hissed as it scrambled to find a station.

Before long, the news began to play.

– In today’s international news: A skirmish occurred at the northwestern border of the Lindemann Principality, resulting in numerous casualties.

The announcer’s voice was so dry it felt crumbly, almost to the point of sounding bored.

In the heavy, subdued atmosphere, Riche quietly closed her eyes and rested back into the seat.

After a moment, she slowly opened them again, her gaze turning toward the window now hidden by the blinds.

Images of the cities she had seen when she first crossed the border into this country floated up in her mind.

Even at this very moment, someone on the other side of the world was likely bleeding and dying.

Yet, this country was so peaceful and quiet it was almost hard to believe.

It felt like a lie — and at the same time, like a dream.

She forced herself to find another topic to focus on.

Right. What should she ask?

“What kind of person is His Grace the Grand Duke?”

“I would say he’s exactly as the public knows him.”

It was a question perfectly reasonable for someone about to become his personal physician, yet somehow, the air inside the car grew heavy.

“He is the only Grand Duke recognized by the Führer, and a hero to all.”

Kian’s tone was stiff and official, though he surely knew that wasn’t the kind of answer she was hoping for.

Of course, it wasn’t a lie.

In truth, during his military days, the Grand Duke had been a famed marksman who killed countless enemy commanders on the battlefield.

Though he had retired as a sniper from the Army’s special operations unit, as the last prince of the former empire, he was someone even the Führer of Sobek couldn’t ignore.

But of course, what was seen and heard wasn’t everything.

The man had once been the crown prince.

His noble birth was incomparable to the hollow title of Grand Duke bestowed upon him by the Führer.

He was the only son of the final emperor and empress now remembered only in history.

If the then-supreme commander — now the Führer — hadn’t launched a coup, toppled the imperial government, and founded the Sobek Federal Republic…

If he hadn’t stripped the crown prince of his title and instead sent him to the gallows alongside his parents…

History would look very different now.

What had the Grand Duke had to surrender to the Führer just to survive?

To live a life of loyalty, kneeling before the man who murdered his parents…

What could that possibly feel like?

Lost in thought for some time, she didn’t notice the car gradually slowing down.

The engine’s hum faded away, and with a soft clack, the bright white blinds covering the window were rolled up.

Before her eyes could even adjust to the brightness, Kian opened the door for her.

“We’ve arrived.”

Now, it was truly beginning.

The reason she had come to this enemy nation, walking a razor’s edge with a false name and a false identity.

There was only one.

To serve as the personal physician to Grand Duke Damias Eldéard — the Führer’s right-hand man and the second most powerful figure in Sobek.

And when the time came, to assassinate him.

* * *

It was a three-story marble mansion, also known by the nickname “Sini Dome.”

True to its name, an endless sky stretched above its deep blue roof.

Despite the overcast weather, the entire building glittered even under the faintest light.

If one had to find a flaw—

“That was installed for security reasons.”

Kian already knew where Riche’s gaze was directed.

Beyond the main gate they had just passed through, something else came into view.

A vertical structure that could only be described as a barrier.

Dark red bricks stacked densely, topped with coils of barbed wire.

A relic of war.

A symbol of distrust and isolation.

It wasn’t the first time she had seen such structures up close.

It was then—

“Sir Kian!”

A servant came running from afar, gasping for breath.

He whispered something into Kian’s ear, and Kian’s face immediately turned ashen.

“Is something wrong?”

“…… I apologize. I was supposed to escort you to the reception room, but something urgent has come up, and I must go.”

The air shifted, becoming tense.

An indescribable feeling wrapped around her, and a chill ran down her spine.

“I’ll send someone to escort you inside.”

Kian bowed deeply and hurried off with the servant.

His steps were filled with visible urgency.

Left completely alone, Riche quietly watched their retreating figures until they were no more than specks in the distance.

Something was churning beneath the surface.

Bang!

A gunshot.

At first, she thought she had misheard.

In the middle of such a peaceful day?

And at the Grand Duke’s residence, no less?

Who would dare storm in with a gun?

But that thought was mocked by the second gunshot.

Bang!

It was a sound she had once grown sick of hearing.

There was no way she could mistake it.

Instinctively, she started running.

The second gunshot had been much closer than the first.

Meaning whoever had the gun was coming toward her.

And without any weapon to defend herself, the best option was to run.

Experience had taught her that much.

She ran until her lungs felt like they would burst.

She didn’t even know where she was running to.

“Ah!”

But the moment she encountered a figure, she gave up everything.

It was a beautiful man.

So breathtaking that he seemed to overshadow every beauty she had ever seen.

Yet when she found herself staring down the barrel of the automatic rifle he held, she realized she wasn’t facing an angel — but a lion.

Slowly, the man’s lips parted.

A low, gentle voice delivered her death sentence.

“…… So, there’s one more.”

Bang!

The final gunshot swallowed everything.

To be continued in the next chapter▶